Aztec Hairstyles

According to codices, the Aztecs had a wide range of hairstyles that were worn by people of different professions and ranks throughout the empire. Whilst the vast majority of commoners wore their hair in a similar fashion, warriors distinguished their rank by wearing elaborate styles or hair ornaments. Whilst officials also showed their position through ornaments and special cuts, priests grew their hair long. How a person wore their hair could demonstrate what tribe they belonged to; in much the same way as Mexican indigenous textiles nowadays help to indicate a person’s village of origin. (Written/compiled by Julia Flood/Mexicolore)

Many hairstyles had a special meaning; some meant “I have yet to take a captive in war”, others told us “I am not yet married”. The following article is a summary of some hairstyles described in “The Essential Codex Mendoza” by Frances Berdan and Patricia Anawalt (University of California Press, 1997).

Picture 3 shows the Quachic warrior or “Shorn One” (Berdán 1997:190). His hairstyle is called ‘Quachichictli’ and comprises a stiff ridge of hair that grows down the centre of the warrior’s otherwise shaved scalp. Whereas in the Florentine Codex Quachic warriors grow a small patch of hair above their right ears, that does not appear in this illustration from the Codex Mendoza.

Although Picture 4 does not demonstrate a hairstyle, it’s well worth showing for its portrayal of the magnificent ’Quetzallalpiloni’ headdress. Here, it’s worn by King Nezahualpilli of Texcoco (Codex Ixtlilxóchitl). Quetzallalpilonis were ornaments given in tribute from rich provinces within the modern state of Oaxaca. Those that bore the Quetzallalpiloni were part of the imperial family.

The brave Tequihua warriors wore a hairstyle called ‘Temillotl’ (Picture 5). Also worn by the merchant (or Pochteca) deity Yacatecuhtli, the Temillotl hairstyle was described in the 16th century document, Primeros Memoriales, as a ‘column’ of hair. Yacatecuhtli’s name meant ‘nose god’ or ‘god of the vanguard’ (referring to the merchants’ extensive travels). The Florentine Codex tells of the procedure that came into play when a successful warrior moved up the military hierarchy: ‘And when he took four [captives in battle] Moctezuma then let his hair be cut like that of a seasoned warrior.’

This rank was destined for Aztec warriors rather than members of the Otomí tribe themselves, who dwelt in arid, mid-northern Mesoamerica. Known throughout the Mexican Basin to be ferocious fighters, their bravery must have been the inspiration behind a rank of this name. To be part of it meant that you were part of a special ‘order’, like that of the Eagle and Jaguar warriors. This warrior (Picture 6) wears his hair in a special manner. His topknot is tied with a red band and is worn longer at the back than that of the Tequihua Warrior. His yellow earplugs and lip ornaments are unique but probably not made of gold.

A great trait of Aztec priests is that their hair was long and untended. When young nobles entered religious schools, Calmecacs, they let their shaved childhood heads grow hair and it was not cut until they departed. Some of them, however, became priests and consequently left their hair untouched forever. A priest’s hair was tied back with a white ribbon and smeared, as was his entire body, with soot. Durán explained that the locks of hair became matted, long and mouldy, and likened them to “tightly curled horse’s manes” . In time they came to reach the knee in length (Berdán 1997:149) .

Pictures 7 and 8 from the Codex Tudela and Codex Mendoza help to illustrate this style. You can see the matted effect (individual hairs are not illustrated in previous images), the white ribbon and, in two of the images, a red stripe covering the area of the right ear. Because the priests’ distinctive hair arrangements were symbolic of their roles as religious men, the loss of this physical detail would deeply affect the possibility of them completing their duties. This is why the punishment given to bad priests for not completing their duties as the teachers of novices was either banishment, death, or the cutting of the hair above their foreheads!

The Aztecs portrayed here (Picture 9) are enough to challenge anyone’s idea of what a constable should be! Just four of many similarly ranked dignitaries, these men seem to be linked together by their similar physical appearance. They are the emperor’s official executors who carried out death sentences at his command. They are also dressed in the same manner, with black body paint and black/brown faces, tubular ear plugs and plain cloaks. They have long hair with white or red ribbons twisted around it and fastened at the neck. Berdán and Anawalt suggest that these hair arrangements, called ‘Achcacauhti’, are what distinguish these constables as executioners. Here is an excerpt of their duties in this role from the Florentine Codex:’They were qualified to hit people over the head, strangle them with cords, stone them publicly or cut them to pieces.’ Sahagún names more constables of this rank in the Florentine Codex (Berdán 1997: 195).

The master of youths also had his own special hairstyle (Picture 10). The aesthetic emphasis of this arrangement lies in the shaving of his temples. He does this by running a sharpened piece of turtle shell along this area. Another way of distinguishing the rank of the school master is by his cape, which is made out of rough fibre. It is the mark of being a commoner. Nevertheless, he is allowed to wear special ornaments that suggest standing in society. He wears feathers and a special necklace that could have been made from shells.

Pic 11: Youth, Codex Mendoza, folio 62r (Click on image to enlarge)

Young male children had to keep their heads shaved until the age of 10. They were then allowed to mature to the next symbolic stage in their lives and allow a patch of hair at the back of their heads to grow (noble youngsters followed the example of their own teachers, who were priests, and grew theirs completely). The only way for an adolescent (Picture 11) to eventually cut off his tuft was by capturing an enemy in battle; wrestling fully grown men must have been a gargantuan task for a fifteen year old! However, until this aim was achieved, youths were prey to taunts from their more advanced contemporaries and, according to Sahagún, women. This quote (yellow box, below) from the General History of the Things of New Spain illustrates the spiteful dialogue between a youth and the woman who bullies him:-

Two Year 4 girls from Colden Common Primary School, Hants., sport the classic hairdo of married Aztec women! (Click on image to enlarge)

EVER HAD A BAD HAIR DAY? Surely it wasn’t as terrible as what this youth (Pic 11) had to face...!Woman:-‘He with the occipital tuft of hair can speak! Canst thou talk? Be thou already concerned over how thy tuft of hair will fall off, thou with the little tuft of hair. It is an evil smelling tuft of hair, it is a stinking tuft of hair. Art thou not just a woman like me?’Boy:-’Anoint thy stomach with mud; scratch thy stomach, twist one leg about the other...; fall stinking on the ground. There is a stone, a hard stone; strike thy face with the stone, strike thy face with it, make the blood spurt forth. Scratch thy nose with the stone, or bore a hole with a fire drill into the windpipe; though you will spit (through) there.’(Nowadays, of course, we would just say ‘____ off!’)

Here's what others have said:

9 At 1.05pm on Wednesday May 2 2018, Manuel wrote:

Hello!As for the teacher and pupil hairstyle you have documented, would you say its a Mohawk or a mullet?

Mexicolore replies: Sorry, being almost bald I’m not a hair expert...!

8 At 12.50am on Thursday April 9 2015, MLevine wrote:

Hi is it true that Aztec or Mexica men and women wore fringes or cuffs of fur? thanks so much for your help, Mary.

Mexicolore replies: Fringes probably yes (see the black section above (near top, under ‘Men’...); cuffs of fur, well not as a luxury item as some women wear today, but decorative bands and ribbons in the hair, yes.

7 At 1.10am on Monday September 1 2014, Miguel Sanz wrote:

Fashionistas!

6 At 8.24am on Thursday August 7 2014, Frank wrote:

A very informative post however I strongly dislike that you chose what appear to be anglo saxon caucasian young girls as an example for an “Aztec” hairstyle/style/fashion instead of a Native from Mexico. How disrespectful.

Mexicolore replies: Thanks for commenting. Perhaps you hadn’t realised that we are an educational service based in England? We work every day in different primary schools in this country with English kids. To show the efforts taken by kids here to learn about - and emulate - pre-Hispanic Mexican hairstyles seems to us entirely in keeping with the spirt of our work. After the entire rest of the article had been illustrated with images from Mexican sources, to include one showing our work on the Aztecs in an English school - on the same topic - seems to us to be particularly appropriate. Are you seriously suggesting we should never show photos of kids in schools in this part of the world engaged in cross-cultural learning...??

5 At 4.20pm on Monday October 1 2012, Aleksandra wrote:

Posts like this make the internet such a treausre trove

4 At 11.55pm on Monday December 14 2009, Matt Troup wrote:

Hello, Ian and crew: What do you know of the rectangular patches on the sternum of women’s blouses? I see them in the pictures above as well as on this page: